Chapter 2: Best Friends Forever, Till Death Do We Part
We call that person who has lost his father, an orphan; and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence. - Joseph Roux
On the jet, Spencer voiced his opinion about the murders not being random. The rest of the team wasn't so sure, but they it was a possibility they were considering none the less. Other than that, there wasn't really much else to talk about, so after only about twenty minutes, they were all left to their own devices.
When they landed, Hotch gave the orders of who goes where. "Okay," he said. "Morgan, I want you to go talk to the family of the first victim, Prentiss, go talk to the family of the second victim, and JJ, the third. Reid, go to the school, see if the teachers can tell you anything about someone who might have wanted to hurt them. Rossi, you come with me to the police station so we can get set up." Everyone nodded split up. Spencer had a vague idea of why Hotch had sent him to the school; he was the one who thought the murders were linked. Maybe Hotch was giving him the chance to prove it.
CM
At the school, Spencer realized that he didn't know where the main office was... then he saw four teenage girls at a vending machine and figured he'd ask rather than try to find it by himself. Slowly, he walked up to them.
"Excuse me," he said. They turned and looked at him, eyes going wide when they realized he wasn't another student.
"Shit!" one of them cursed under her breath. She was a bit heavy-set, and had long blonde hair thrown up in a loose pony tail and light blue eyes.
"What was that?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Um, nothing!" she said hastily. He pushed that off and opened his mouth to speak, but another girl cut him off. She was shorted than the rest of them, and had hair that was only a few inches longer than his own, similar and color, and was throw into a sloppy pony tail at the base of her skull. She wore glasses and her speech was slurred due to a retainer (the wire could be seen on her top teeth).
"Are you the math sub people have been talking about?" she asked.
"Um, no. My name is Dr. Spencer Reid, I work with the FBI. I was wondering-" but another girl cut him off. She was tall. Really tall. She was eye level with him. Her brown hair was shoulder length, like the short girl, but not in a pony tail. She too wore glasses, but spoke in kind of a proper way, sort of formal.
"Are you here because of Chelsea, Andria, and Katie?" she asked. He nodded.
"Yeah, and I was-" but the final girl cut him off.
"I hope you catch the son of a bitch who did that to them." This girl was only slightly taller than the secong girl and wore her hair in the same way. She didn't have glasses, but they looked a lot alike, even in their posture.
"Should you girls really be talking like that?"
"What? Are you our mom?" the second girl asked. He was starting to lose his patience.
"Could you please tell me where the office is?" he asked.
"We'll take you," the first girl said.
"That's okay, you can just-"
"We are heading that direction anyway," the third girl said. "It is no big deal." Spencer shrugged.
"Okay, lead the way." They walked for a moment in silence, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.
"So, did you know those girls?" They all stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face him.
"Know? We were best friends!" He stared at them.
"All of you?" They nodded. The second girl pulled out her cell phone, pressed some buttons and held it out to him. On the screen, seven girls smiled up at him, all sqeezing themselves tight together to fit into the camera's lens. Three were the victims, and four were the girls who stood in front of him now. He handed the phone back. "I need you to text this to me," he told her.
"What?"
"Text it to me."
"Why?"
"Because, it may be relevant to the case." He didn't want to worry them with his theory that he UnSub may be targeting them. "Send it to me." Eyes wide at the urgency in his voice, she nodded. He told her his phone number and she sent it. A few seconds later, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he waisted no time before sending it to Hotch.
Here's our connection. I think the UnSub is targeting the girls in this picture. That's what he sent with the picture to Hotch. With that, they continued to the main office.
CM
Knock, knock, knock! Morgan rapped on the door of the victim's family. A moment later, it opened and a blonde-haired woman opened the door. She looked almost exactly like her daughter had, he realized.
"Yes?"
"Hello, I'm Agent Morgan with the FBI. I'm here investigating your daughter's murder." He kept his voice gentle, trying not to upset her. Regardless, tear swam in her eyes.
"I already spoke with the police."
"I know, but there may be something you can tell me that you may not have thought important to tell the police, and that could help us a lot."
"Oh... okay, come in." She stepped aside and let him pass. She closed the door behind him and led him to a small sitting room, gesturing for him to sit. Once he was seated, she sat across from him.
"So, Mrs. Dumant, did you notice anyone watching Chelsea, anyone paying too much attention to her?" The woman shook her head. "Was there anyone with a grudge, maybe? Someone who threatend her?"
"No. She would have told me. She would have..." Tears started leaking from her eyes.
"Um... maybe we should take a break, if this is too hard..." She nodded and stood, walking over to a mantle that was ladden with pictures. She picked one up and returned to the couch.
"She was such a sweet girl. Smart and... and beautiful. And she had such wonderful friends." With a sniffle, Mrs. Dumant held the photo out to Morgan. When he saw it, he nearly dropped it. Standing with Chelsea Dumant were the two other victims, along with four other girls.
"You never told police that two of the other victims were friends with Chelsea," he said. She stared up at him, bleary-eyed, looking rather sheep-ish.
"I-I didn't think it was important..." She bit her lip.
"Ma'am, do you mind if I take this? It may be important to finding the man who did this." She nodded.
"Do... do you want the names of the other four girls?" He thought for a second and nodded.
"That would be very helpful." She walked to a small desk and grabbed a pen and sheet of paper, writing on it for a moment, then walking back over and giving it to him. Morgan quickly read it over.
Amber Hunter- Short brunett w/ glasses.
Sara Shipley- Blonde.
Rachel Hart- Tall brunett w/ glasses.
Kelly Preten- Short Brunerr w/out glasses."Thank you," he said as she led him back to the door. Well, I'll be damned, he thought. Reid was right about it not being random at all.